17 'Harry Potter' Quotes That Encourage People on Tough Days With Chronic Illness

Navigating the daily struggles, stresses and frustrations of chronic illness can quickly get exhausting, physically and emotionally. For many of us, turning to the fictional worlds of books, movies and TV shows can be a welcome distraction from pain or other symptoms, a great form of escapism, a source of laughter and entertainment (especially if we’re always stuck at home!), and perhaps even provide us with a sense of belonging or community.

“Harry Potter,” one of the most popular series, well, ever, may not be about life with a chronic health condition, yet it resonates deeply with our community and holds a special place in the hearts of so many. We wanted to know how these books and movies have helped people through their health journeys, so we asked our Mighty community to share a quote from “Harry Potter” that encourages them on difficult days with chronic illness. Whatever challenges you may be facing, hopefully the following quotes will help you find some light and magic along the way.

Here’s what our community shared with us:

1. “Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” – Albus Dumbledore

“I battle multiple ‘invisible illnesses’ and have had many doctors tell me that they are not real conditions, I’m not [disabled], or that if I sought mental health help that my physical symptoms would go away. Just because my illness isn’t visible doesn’t mean that it’s not valid.” – Brittany J.

“It helps me a lot. So many years of doctors (and everyone else) telling me my symptoms were just in my head.” – Vanessa B.

2. “Dobby has no master, Dobby is a free elf.” – Dobby

“For some strange reason, ‘Dobby has no master, Dobby is a free elf.’ [I] think it is the joy when it is said and helps me remember that I am in control, not my conditions. So if you meet someone muttering they are a free elf it could be me.” – Tasha W.

3. “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” – Albus Dumbledore

“This quote has comforted me in my battle with mental illness, and has helped me even more that I now battle invisible chronic illnesses as well.” – Jordan H.

“Just because I’m sick, doesn’t mean I can’t be happy. I make the conscious decision to turn on the light every single day.” – Darcey R.

4. “Things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end, if not always in the way we expect.” – Luna Lovegood

“By my fellow Ravenclaw, Luna Lovegood. Her character resonated so much with me because she didn’t ever try to fit in, to make others like her. She was unapologetically Luna, even when she knew others made fun of her. I spent so much of my adolescence caring about what others thought, and I wish I could have been more like Luna, who is always kind, brave and a good friend.” – Monica B.

5.”It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – Albus Dumbledore

“This quote helps me because it reminds me that it doesn’t matter what I can or can’t do, it matters what I decide to do with the things I can do.” – Rebecca P.

“I have multiple disabilities that limit my ability to function. I can choose to dwell on this or dwell on the choices I do have. I can choose to be bitter or choose to make the best of the abilities I do have and be as happy as I can be. It is a choice. Life is a choice.” – Anjuli H.

6. “I want you to listen to me very carefully, Harry. You’re not a bad person. You’re a very good person, who bad things have happened to.” – Sirius Black

“This is a particularly helpful quote when I have days where I begin to think I’ve somehow brought my disabilities and illnesses on myself by being ‘bad’ somehow. It puts things back into perspective. I’m not a bad person and never have been. I don’t deserve this pain and I didn’t bring it upon myself by being ‘bad.’ I’m a good person and pain is just a bad thing that has happened to me.” – Stacey-Jayne Y.B.

“I related to this quote in early months of diagnosis whenever I felt I was becoming a bad person because jealousy was hitting me hard when I was seeing people who had a normal life and could do things.” – Natassa B.

“This reminds me I haven’t been bad or nasty to get a chronic illness – it just happened.” – Sophie L.C.

7. “The consequences of our actions are always so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed.” – Albus Dumbledore

“I can’t change what I’m dealing with now, but my choices have a huge impact on not just my future, but the future of those around me. I still have power, even when I feel powerless.” – Cari-An M.

8. “Eat, you’ll feel better.” – Remus Lupin

“Sometimes I will get too overwhelmed with pain to remember to do the basic things, like eat. Yes, Remus, I will feel less cranky if I eat. Also, when picking up prescriptions, I deserve to get a chocolate bar as well.” – Sonja A.

9. “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that.” – Albus Dumbledore

“This quote by the beloved Albus Dumbledore reminds me to focus on living in the now, and living within the life that I have been granted, instead of dwelling on the dreams I once had and how much I have lost because of my chronic pain and illness. It reminds me to look for the good in my life as it is now.” – Jennifer K.

10. The “Expecto Patronum” Spell

“The spell ‘Expecto Patronum’ helps me, because when the depression sets in it reminds me to dig into my mind for the happiest memories I have. Being able to remember the happiest times of my life helps get me through.” – Bonnie P.

11. “…it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be!” – Albus Dumbledore

“Another way of saying it’s not the cards you are dealt but the way you play them… for me, it reminds me that my attitude towards myself and my illness that determines how good my good days are and how bad my bad days are.” – Ione M.

“Reminds me even great characters forget things and sometimes that very act brings out the best positive plot twists in someone’s life.” – Katrina C.O.

13. “Dark times lie ahead of us and there will be a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right.” – Albus Dumbledore

“My bad days are the dark times and it would be easy to just give up. But the right thing to do for my family is to keep fighting. It just reminds me that it is often a difficult path we go down to get to the good days.” – Kat T.

“I don’t have to pretend to be OK; it’s all right if I’m not, because I’m dealing with a lot. But I will be better than I am right now, sooner or later, because life is change. I just need to get through one minute at a time.” – Cari-An M.

15. “One can never have enough socks.” – Albus Dumbledore

“I get cold extremities very easily because of my Raynaud’s. This line just makes me laugh and it makes me happy because it’s true in my life. I have socks of every weight for different types of weather because it physically hurts when my toes get cold. Sometimes you just need to laugh from happiness.” – Cassie D.

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Paige is the Associate Chronic Illness Editor at The Mighty. She lives with an autoimmune disease and other chronic health issues, and is passionate about helping others share their health journeys and connect with one another.